– having regard to the resolutions of the UN Security Council on Western Sahara, in particular resolutions 1598 (2005) of 28 April 2005 and 1495 (2003), endorsed by the UN General Assembly on 11 October 2005,

– having regard to the UN Secretary-General's latest report to the Security Council on Western Sahara (April 2005),

– having regard to the recent appointment of a Special Representative and the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Western Sahara,

– having regard to its resolution of 28 April 2005 on the Annual Report on Human Rights in the World 2004 and the EU's policy on the matter(1)
,

– having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. deeply concerned at the latest reports by Amnesty International and the World Organisation Against Torture regarding serious human rights violations by Morocco against the Sahrawi people,

B. whereas the investigations carried out by the Equity and Reconciliation Commission regarding the people who have died in illegal detention centres have led to the discovery of the graves of 57 victims of forcible 'disappearance', 43 of them Sahrawis,

1. Welcomes the release by the Polisario Front of all Moroccan prisoners of war; calls on the Moroccan authorities to immediately release the human rights supporters, Mrs Aminattou Haidar, Mr Ali Salem Tamek and 35 other Sahrawi political prisoners, and to shed light on the fate of more than 500 missing Sahrawis, including those who disappeared during military campaigns;

2. Calls on Morocco and the Polisario Front to cooperate fully with the International Committee of the Red Cross with a view to ascertaining what has happened to the people who have disappeared since the conflict began;

3. Calls for the protection of the Sahrawi population, respect for their fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of movement, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international treaties and conventions on human rights;

4. Supports a just and lasting solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, based on the rule of law and on international law, and the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, particularly Resolution 1495;

5. Calls on the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front, the neighbouring states and the European Union to cooperate fully with the United Nations with a view to completing the process of decolonisation of Western Sahara;

6. Calls on the Council and Member States to actively support the UN's efforts in calling for the preservation of the natural energy resources of Western Sahara as a non-autonomous territory, the subject of a decolonisation process as stipulated in the legal opinion (2002) by the UN's Deputy Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Mr Hans Correl;

7. Welcomes the appointment by the UN Secretary-General of his Personal Envoy to Western Sahara, in the person of Ambassador Van Valsum, and the designation of Mr Francesco Bastagli as Special Representative responsible for the UN Mission for the referendum in Western Sahara (Minurso), which should help to re-activate the peace process in Western Sahara;

8. Calls on the UN Secretary-General's new Personal Envoy to report to its Committee on Foreign Affairs and its subcommittees, as well as its Delegation for Relations with the Maghreb countries;

9. Calls on the Moroccan authorities to facilitate access to the territory of Western Sahara for independent observers and representatives of human rights defence organisations and the international press; deplores in this connection the expulsion of several European delegations;

10. Considers that the visit by its delegation to the region will provide the European Parliament with fresh information regarding the situation there, and is confident that the delegation will be able to carry out its mission unobstructed and on schedule, that is to say in January 2006;

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the UN Secretary-General, the President of the African Union, the Government of Morocco and the leadership of the Polisario Front.